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CITY BLUES - Los Angeles is at a profound preservation crossroads. In recent years, the city rightfully stepped up to nominate and adopt historic protections for iconic landmarks like the Marilyn Monroe residence and, more recently, the Brady Bunch house. Those efforts didn't just rally immediate neighbors; they drew passionate, overwhelming support nationwide and worldwide. Angelenos and onlookers across the globe cheered because they understood a fundamental truth: when a site achieves historic status, its value belongs to the entire cultural landscape, not just a single zip code.
Yet, this Thursday, June 18, 2026, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission (CHC) will consider a case that tests whether those protections actually mean anything when a building faces pressure. Under Agenda Item 4, the Commission will review a demolition permit for the Barry Building (Historic-CulturalMonument No. 887) in Brentwood.
For the past decade, this mid-century architectural treasure has sat boarded up, left to decay after its tenants were evicted in 2016. Today, the property is managed and controlled by the sons of the late billionaire investor Charlie Munger. Citing the costs of a required soft-story retrofit, the owners have pushed to tear it down entirely—with absolutely no replacement project lined up. If approved, an official architectural monument will be reduced to a fenced, vacant dirt lot.
Acknowledging the Local Frustration
It is no secret that some local neighborhood groups and individuals have been in favor of demolition. Frankly, it is hard to blame them for being frustrated. Nobody wants a fenced-off, boarded-up building languishing on a prime corridor like San Vicente Boulevard for ten years. It creates an eyesore, impacts local walkability, and feels like a neighborhood failure.
However, some proponents of demolition have attempted to frame this conflict as local residents versus outside preservationists. But that simply isn't true. A city-designated Historic-Cultural Monument, by its very definition, holds architectural and cultural merit that transcends neighborhood boundaries. Just as the Monroe and Brady Bunch homes belong to the cultural fabric of the wider world, the fate of the Barry Building is a matter of profound city-wide importance.
Flattening the building out of sheer local exhaustion is a permanent mistake that plays right into a strategy of demolition by neglect.
Preservationists across Los Angeles are watching this case with deep concern because of these broader implications. If an owner can board up an official Historic-Cultural Monument, let it decay long enough to frustrate the neighbors, and then be rewarded with a demolition permit without even presenting a replacement project, then no historic monument in Los Angeles is safe.
This isn’t an argument for keeping a blighted, boarded-up building. It is a message of hope. A practical, common-sense resolution is entirely attainable if the community steps up right now to demand a 180-day stay of demolition.
The Visionary Legacy of David Barry, Jr.
To understand why the Barry Building is worth saving on its own architectural merit, you have to look at the remarkable man who built it. Completed in 1951 and designed by notable architect Milton Caughey, the striking International Style building with its iconic open courtyard was commissioned by David Barry, Jr., who maintained his personal real estate office right inside the structure.
Mr. Barry wasn't just a builder; he was a neighborhood visionary whose deep passion for botany fundamentally shaped the local landscape. He was the driving force who established the famous Coral Trees in the San Vicente Boulevard median (Historic-Cultural Monument No. 148). Right adjacent to the Barry Building, he founded the legendary California Jungle Gardens nursery, where he introduced numerous rare tropical plants and exotic palms to cultivation.
The Barry Building is the physical, architectural anchor of a legacy that gave Brentwood its unique green character. Though the building has been neglected for ten years, its structural bones and historical significance remain. To bulldoze Barry’s architectural legacy just to create a patch of dirt would be a profound loss for the entire history of the Westside.
The Win-Win Solution: Sell It Intact
The preservation community isn't asking the neighborhood to live with a blighted building forever. We are looking for a realistic path forward that works for everyone, including the frustrated local residents.
The property owners have stated in writing that they intend to sell the land after the building is demolished. This begs an obvious question: Why not sell the property with the Barry Building intact?
Allowing a 180-day pause provides a critical, formal window for the city, the current owners, and interested preservation-minded buyers to collaborate on a real solution. A new owner could dynamically integrate this historic structure into a larger development project or execute a sensitive adaptive reuse plan that brings the building into modern safety compliance.
This temporary stay creates the necessary time to explore viable transfer options. It's a true win-win:
- The current owners can move forward with their intended sale.
- A new developer gets a prime piece of Westside real estate with unique historic character.
- The neighborhood gets rid of a boarded-up eyesore and gains a restored, beautiful streetscape.
- Los Angeles prevents a significant, irreversible impact to a historic resource and protects administrative integrity.
Key Talking Points for Your Support
Please feel free to use or adapt these talking points for your written submissions, phone comments, or in-person testimony:
- Demand the Maximum 180-Day Stay: Explicitly ask the Commission to exercise its full authority under Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 22.171.15 to trigger the maximum 180-day stay on the demolition permit.
- A Win-Win Scenario is Attainable: A 180-day pause provides a critical, formal window for the current owners (Applicant) and interested preservation parties to work together on a solution that avoids total destruction.
- Time to Find a Preservation-Minded Solution: This temporary stay creates the necessary time to explore viable transfer options, including selling the property with the Barry Building intact so a new owner can integrate the structure dynamically into a larger development project.
- Prevent a Dangerous Precedent: Allowing the demolition of an active Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 887) without a replacement project sets a highly damaging administrative precedent for all designated structures in Los Angeles.
How You Can Help Save the Barry Building This Thursday
The Cultural Heritage Commission needs to hear a united voice from across the city. Whether you submit a public comment or join the meeting remotely, your action can turn ten years of decay into a story of renewal.
1. Submit a Written Comment
Please send your written comments directly to the Commission as soon as possible.
Email: [email protected]
Contact Person: Bryan Sanchez (213-978-1454)
Subject Line: Public Comment for June 18, 2026, Agenda Item 4, Support for 180-day stay to Prevent the Demolition of the Barry Building, HCM #887
2. Attend the meeting in person:
Los Angeles City Hall
200 North Spring Street, 10th Floor, Room 1010
Los Angeles, CA 90012
3. If you cannot make it to the hearing, you can also attend either by ZOOM, or call in:
Direct Zoom Link: https://planning-lacity-org.zoom.us/j/86348444738
Call-In Numbers: (213) 338-8477 or (669) 900-9128
Meeting ID: 863 4844 4738 | Passcode: 286723
Let’s remind all Angelenos, and everyone who is an Angeleno at heart, that our past does not need to be demolished to make room for our future. It can be part of it.
(Ziggy Kruse Blue and Bob Blue are frequent contributors to CityWatchLA. They can be reached at [email protected])
